Thursday, December 13, 2007

I may revisit this and edit it between now and January 1st, but hopefully by then it will be set in stone.

1. Check progress of my ResolutionsIn order to help ensure I'm working toward my goals, I resolve to check in with my New Years Resolutions every 2 months or so. I hope this will will keep me on track, because too often these types of resolutions are made with the best of intentions, and then ignored or forgotten within weeks.

6/13/08 UPDATE: I checked in on my resolutions in February, then not again until June... so I'm off the mark with the 2 month check-in, but at least I'm checking in!

10/06/08 UPDATE: Well, here it is October, and I'm checking in on my resolutions for what, the 2nd time? Better than nothing I guess, but I'm not keeping up with this resolution very well.

10/28/08 UPDATE: Another update! Trying to make up for lost time I guess.

2. Go to the DentistWe just had our new benefits meeting at work, and there's a new Dental plan which seems a little better than the old one. I haven't been making use of my Dental insurance, so this year I resolve to go to at least the 2 covered dental exams, one by February 28th, the other in late summer.

6/13/08 UPDATE: FAIL! I have not made an appointment with a dentist. :(

10/06/08 UPDATE: 4 more months and I STILL haven't been to the dentist. EPIC FAIL!

10/28/08 UPDATE: I finally went to the dentist! No bad news either, which is awesome. I'm sure the dental hygiene resolution helped in that regard.

3. New GlassesWe also got (or renewed) vision insurance, and its been a while since I've gotten my prescription updated. I resolve to go to the eye doctor by February 28th and get new glasses. I've considered Lasik surgery to fix my eyes and remove the need for glasses, but I wasn't a good candidate for it last time i checked because my eyesight was still changing. they said you need to have the same prescription for 2 years, so maybe I'll start planning on that for 2009 or 2010.

2/11/08 UPDATE: I had an eye exam and new glasses are on their way! I should have them within a week.

6/13/08 UPDATE: I did get new glasses, and they are great!

4. Finish Game Designs (Prototyping)I have a lot of game designs that I've started, some of them are really almost "finished" - to the point where I could play them and see if they're any good. Some of these have been around for a couple of years now, and its about time I get them finished up. So I resolve to complete prototypes and play the following designs:

Hot and Fresh - A game about pizza delivery and traffic laws. This is at least 2 years old, and is ready to test except I need to make a game board and some cards.

Dynasty - A game about the spread of culture in ancient China. This is almost as old as Hot and Fresh, and will be ready to test as soon as I come up with a list of technologies which players will research (like gunpowder and the compass)

Red Colony - A game about the colonization of Mars. This is a new one, but seems like a really good idea. This one's an ambitious resolution, but its doable if I focus on it, and that's the point of the resolutions, right?

2/11/08 UPDATE: I have revived 2 older game designs, they were actually a little further along than Hot & Fresh and Dynasty, so I thought I should try and "finish" them. One is about sacrificing tribesmen to the volcano goddess Pele, and the other is about Odysseus' journey from Troy to Ithaca.

6/13/08 UPDATE: I have made no progress on Hot & Fresh, Dynasty, Winds of Fate, Red colony, or Kilaeua. I have started a new design and I'm about ready to test it - just as soon as I make a prototype... I seem to be going backwards with this resolution :(

10/06/08 UPDATE: Still no progress on any of the games I mentioned last time. I did do something with the "new" game I mentioned in the last update (It's called Reading Railroad), I entered it in a contest where it didn't do very well. I've since started YET ANOTHER game design as well - a deduction game called Moctezuma's Revenge, about plundering Aztec temples, only some of them are cursed, and you don't want cursed treasure. So while I'm still working on game design, at least sometimes, I'm really failing at this resolution :/

10/28/08 UPDATE: I revived another old game (8/7 Central) and tried it with new rules. Other than that I haven't done much with this. I think the rest of the year might see some more action in this regard though.

5. Game Publication/SubmissionI'm trying to get a game published. I have 3 that are at the point where they need to be shown to publishers, and I've finally started that process. I'm learning about it as I go, so it's taking a long time because I'm not sure what I'm doing. In order to stay on track, I resolve to submit Wizard's Tower, All For One, and Terra Prime to as many publishers as possible/necessary in an attempt to get one/some/all of them published. I further resolve to enter a game in at least 2 game design contests: KublaCon in May and Hippodice in November.

6/13/08 UPDATE: I entered a game in the KublaCon design contest. Terra Prime is being reviewed by Loose Cannon for publication. Homesteaders is currently being reviewed by Rio Grande games for publication. I believe Wizard's Tower has been given to Bucephelus Games for review. All For One is currently with Z-man, but I think he hasn't got time to look at it and I'm considering asking him to return it so I can show it to someone else.

10/06/08 UPDATE: Well, the bad news is that Z-man wasn't interested in publishing All For One, and I don't think Wizard's Tower ever really made it to Bucephelus either. The good news is that Homesteaders was recommended to Rio Grande Games by their freelance developer people, and Loose Cannon is gung ho about publishing Terra Prime! I'm excited about that prospect, but it will be a long time before anything really happens with it, I'm sure. In the meantime, the Hippodice deadline is coming right up, so if I'm to keep up with this Resolution then I'd better get something together quick! I've got the rest of the month.

10/28/08 UPDATE: If I want to enter Hippodice then I need to (a) pick a game to enter, (b) decide what rules to use, and (c) get them written up and submitted by the end of the week! If it doesn't happen I think that might be OK with me. I've done well on these resolutions. It would be nice to 100% them though!

6. Cut down on TYPOsI never learned to type properly. I type fairly quickly, utilizing a lot more fingers than a lot of people who never learned to type, and I know about where the keys are (they are, after all, in the same place every time). But for the most part I look at the keyboard when I type rather than the screen and as a result, I can easily make a mistake and not notice. I'm usually in a hurry, or just impatient, and I seldom check what I've written before clicking send, publish, post, or just hitting enter. I hate making typos, and it would be painfully easy to avoid if I just slow down a bit and look at what I've written before I post it. I resolve to significantly reduce typos and spelling errors. And while I'm at it I will reduce the number of inappropriate or unnecessary commas, apostrophes and quotation marks I use.

6/13/08 UPDATE: For several weeks I counted typos and each night I did 2 pushups for every typing error. Being cognizant of it (and punishing myself) did get me to cut down on errors. After a while I stopped counting... since then I've regressed a bit, but I'm not as bad with typing as I used to be.

7. Dental HygieneGoing hand in hand with resolution #2, I resolve to floss at least 5 days a week. When I last posted about these resolutions I mentioned that I had resolved to floss last year, but didn't stick to it. A month ago I started flossing daily, so far so good! Hopefully it's becoming a standard part of my routine, and will stay that way.

6/13/08 UPDATE: Since I wrote these resolutions I've only missed flossing on a couple occasions, and in each case I made up for it he next morning. Flossing seems to have become a part of my daily routine!